Game On!
by ManfredsAwesomeAdmin95
Summary: Chuck Hansen didn't die when Striker Eureka was destroyed. Instead, he was ejected just in time, and ended up on Duel Academy Island. Now, he and his dad have to help the students at the academy defend themselves and the rest of the world from a new threat!


**Hehe, Favorite GX quote EVER:**

**Dr. Vellian Crowler: I **_**can**_** beat you, I **_**can**_** throw down, and I **_**will**_** get my game on! Ugh, I suddenly feel the need to wash my mouth out. **

**Jaden Yuki: C'mon Teach, it ain't that bad!**

** Just thought you should know that. And yes, I do have a healthy appreciation for Crowler, because he's more awesome than anyone gives him credit for, besides Jaden. Anyway, have fun with yet another of my Crack!fics! Contains a brand-spanking-new Jeager(even though it's supposed to look Ancient), a powerful student-teacher bond, a humbled Chuck(because he made me want to wash his mouth out with soap in the movie!), a tiny bit of character death and suggested thoughts of suicide(TRIGGER WARNING!), a bit of father-son bonding, and Jaden's southern-fried twin! No slash, though. I never do slash. Hobey-ho, let's go!**

Chuck looked over at Marshal Stacker Pentacost, knowing with a sense of incredible mortality what his co-pilot was going to have to do. "It was an honor working with you, sir," he said gravely, but Stacker shook his head.

"The pleasure was all mine, Hansen, but I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

"W-what..?"

"Do me a favor: live your life. Don't let anymore of it be consumed by Jeagers or Kaijus. Goodbye, Chuck."

"Wait! Marshal-" But before Chuck could do anything, he was in his escape pod, and watched in horror as Stacker pressed the button that would launch him out of Striker Eureka, and into the Pacific Ocean. He shot up so fast that by the time he saw the Jeager and it's payload explode, taking down two Kaijus with it, he was already close to the surface, and was catapulted several miles out of the water by the force of the blast. Then everything went black.

*****Hours Later*****

Jaden Yuki was hanging out with a few of his friends, watching for any stray Kaijus that might attack the island, when he caught sight of something strange floating in the water not too far out. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, gaining the attention of his best friend, a blue-haired boy by the name of Jesse Anderson.

"Dunno, Jay, but it doesn't look like a Kaiju."

"Of course not. Kaijus are a lot bigger, and they don't just float like that."

"Well, whatever it is, it's getting closer to shore every minute," Jim interrupted. The normally brave Australian transfer student seemed on edge, for once. "We should check it out, just in case."

"Looks like a pod of some kind," Axel said. Everyone knew his amber eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, so it was no surprise that he could already discern what the mysterious object was. "Jim's right; we should go check it out. He and Jesse are the best swimmers we have, so they should go out and retrieve it. Jaden and I will stay on-shore to keep a look-out, and help y'all tow it in when you get close enough. We don't know who or what is inside, so Hasslebarry, be prepared to go Dino if they're hostile."

"You got it, Ax-Man!"

"Dude, just call me Axel! Now, is everyone else good with the plan?" They all nodded. "Good, then let's go. Move it!" Jesse was already diving into the water, but Jim had to dislodge his pet crocodile from his back before following him. Jaden watched as two of his friends powered their way through the waves toward the pod. It didn't take long for them to reach it and start towing it in to shore. Once they got close enough to touch bottom, Axel waded out to help them just as he said he would, while Jaden watched for any monster of the deep that decided it to rear it's ugly head. Luckily, they were completely on-shore when he finally saw one.

"Kaiju! Looks like a Cat III, at least! Maybe even IV!" Jaden shouted. "Find shelter! I'm calling in the cavalry!"

"You think Mechanized Melee can handle that thing alone?" Axel asked.

"You forget he has Crowler and Bastion as pilots, and Zane helped 'em make some pretty cool modifications!"

"If you say so, Jay. Go ahead and call 'em, but make sure they're fully locked and loaded." Jaden did as he promised, while Axel, Jim, Jesse, and Hasslebarry carried the pod into one of the many caves that had been dug under the island to protect them from Kaijus. Moments later, what looked like a skyscraper-sized version of Ancient Gear Golem bounded over his head and out into the ocean to fight the massive Kaiju. In a sense, it _was_ Ancient Gear Golem, but the Duel Monster that had been Crowler's ace card had only been the inspiration for his design. Crowler, Bastion, and Zane had all worked together to build Duel Academy's own Jeager, Mechanized Melee. So far, the government had no idea about it because KaibaCorp wanted to keep it under wraps, fearing for the safety of the students and faculty if Melee were found out and commissioned for the actual Jeager program. As a result, the Mechanized Melee team was only allowed to respond to direct attacks on the island, but of course, Bastion and Crowler had disobeyed that order plenty of times to help out neighboring islands who had no defense system of their own. Every time they did, Seto Kaiba held a big meeting, threatening to permanently shut down Melee if they ever did it again, but they all knew he was secretly very proud of them.

Jaden remembered all of this as he watched his friend and his professor fend off the monster that was quickly closing in on the school. He had enormous faith in them, but still wondered if this was the time that they weren't going to make it out alive. "Mechanized Melee, do you copy?" he said into an earpiece, wanting to say one last thing to them, just in case.

"We hear you loud and clear, Jaden," came Crowler's effeminate but still strong voice, followed by Bastion's more masculine answer.

"Good. Be safe out there, okay? Lately, they've been showing off some pretty crazy new abilities, from what I've heard."

"We know. We can still take 'em down. We've got some tricks up our sleeves, as well!" He could almost hear Crowler grinning.

"You don't have to worry about us, Jaden. Just pray."

"I will, Bastion. Y'all go do what you do best! Show that Kaiju who's boss!"

"You bet we will!" With that, Jaden went into the same cave that the others had gone into, and set out to keep his promise. Once he was a few yards in, he fell on his knees and prayed for their safety.

"Lord, please bring them back alive..." When he finished, he stood and went to find the others. It wasn't long before he could hear their voices.

"There's a man inside it!"

"Who is he? Jim, do you recognize him?"

"I think so...but there's no way he could be here...!"

"What do ya mean?!"

"I mean, he's supposed to be piloting Striker Eureka!"

"What?!"

"How'd he end up here?"

"He must've- Hold on, the lid's popping off. He's awake!"

"Whoa, what did I miss?" Jaden asked, just as the mysterious pilot opened his eyes, sitting bolt upright when he saw the group of teenagers all staring at him.

"Where the hell am I? Who are you?!" The man had a distinct Australian accent, like Jim, but seemed to be in his early twenties, and very disoriented.

"Whoa, easy, mate. We're not your enemy. We pulled your escape pod out of the Pacific about half an hour ago. What happened to Striker? Where's your co-pilot? Do you know if he escaped?" The man glared at Jim as if he had insulted his father.

"How do you know about Striker Eureka?!"

"I recognized your face. You're Chuck Hansen, one of the Jeager pilots who saved Sydney not too long ago. I...was there..."

"Oh...I'm sorry, kid. I didn't mean to be so harsh. What's your name?"

"Jim Cook."

"Good to meet you, Jim, though I wish it were under better circumstances..." Chuck offered Jim a handshake, which he accepted thankfully. The others introduced themselves, and Chuck thanked them all for pulling him out of the ocean, but Jaden could tell something was haunting him. "Striker...Striker Eureka is no more. After he ejected me, Sta- the marshal detonated the payload so that he could take out two of the Kaijus and give Gipsy Danger a better chance of closing the Breach. Blew himself up with 'em...Becket and Mori better get the job done. He can't have died in vain!"

"He didn't. I'm sure of that," Jaden reassured him. "One of those Kaijus decided to come up here instead of playing with Gipsy."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah. Crowler and Bastion are taking it out as we speak."

"How?! The only Jeager that's still running is on the bottom of the Pacific, about to be dropped into a damn wormhole!"

"Weeeeeellllll...let's just say that Gipsy isn't actually the last Jeager. We had three of our best and brightest working on Mechanized Melee, and two of them ended up being the pilots. In fact, they're heading back inland as we speak. They've killed the Kaiju!" Everyone clapped and cheered at Jaden's report, and even Chuck grinned at the news.

"Too bad I couldn't have seen 'em in action," he said.

"You will, if we hurry and get out of this cave!" With that, Jaden and Chuck led everyone out into daylight, just in time for them to see Mechanized Melee step onto the beach. The Aussie pilot let out a low whistle as he took in the sight.

"Amazing! Still not quite as much of a looker as Striker, but I bet he packs a mean punch!"

"He does," Bastion said, seemingly out of nowhere. When they looked up, they could see him and Professor Crowler sitting on Melee's shoulder, grinning down at them. "Especially since Kaijus can't use their special abilities when they battle with him. He's also equipped with the Ancient Gear Cannon that Crowler developed. Worked like a dream!"

"Seriously?! I would've loved to see that! Wait, you said they couldn't use their abilities...How?"

"That would be Zane's doing. He somehow figured out how to incorporate certain aspects of the Duel Monster card, Ancient Gear Golem, into its Jeager counterpart. In the Duel Monsters game, Ancient Gear Golem has several effects, one of which prevents your opponent from activating spell or trap cards, so Zane wanted to make sure a Kaiju couldn't unleash one of its nasty traps on us. Some kind of dampening field, I think. He didn't bother explaining the technical stuff to me..." At this, Bastion seemed to be a bit miffed. The teen was renowned for his scientific genius, and wasn't used to having the spotlight stolen from him.

"That's brilliant! We could've used a kid like him in the Shatterdome!"

"I could've figured it out soon enough!" Bastion grumbled, but was ignored.

"Actually, Chuck, Zane's no kid. He's about your age."

*****PAGE BREAK*****

_Don't be jealous, Bastion._ The teenaged genius turned from his sulking to look at his co-pilot and professor. Ever since the pair had discovered that they were Drift-compatible, they had practiced communicating with each other mentally, and could do so effortlessly.

_Oh,_ c_ome on. He makes one scientific breakthrough on a Jeager that you and I designed, and suddenly, he's Wonder Boy?!_

_ You've gotten plenty of achievements, and he helped us build this. Without him, we wouldn't even have Mechanized Melee. Besides, he's not Drift-compatible, or a brilliant pilot like you. Zane may have his talents, which he deserves to be commended on, but so do you. Forgive me if I sound a bit rude, but get over yourself, Misawa._

_ No, you're right. _Bastion sighed. _I've been acting really immature about the whole thing. I'm sorry for snapping at you. Zane saved our lives, today. I'll be sure to thank him when we get back to the academy._

_ Good. The Cannon really did work like a dream, though. _The smile tugging at Crowler's purple lips was infectious, despite its unintentional creepiness, and Bastion couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Thanks, Dr. Crowler."

"My pleasure. I was just telling the truth!" They both shared a laugh that seemed to grab Chuck's attention. Bastion could hear him asking if anyone knew how the two of them were Drift-compatible. No one did, except the pilots themselves. It had nothing to do with family or love, but everything to do with respect. Bastion looked up to his professor when most students ridiculed him, and Crowler in turn had a healthy respect for Bastion's academic and dueling talents, as well as his loyalty. That was something they both had in common, and it allowed them to form a sort of bond. Over time, as each of them showed what they were really made of throughout various adventures, that bond kept getting stronger. Finally, when Bastion was having a particularly horrible day, it was Crowler who had lifted his spirits and helped him forget his pain by challenging him to a fun but tough duel that lasted for a couple of hours. Bastion had returned the favor by standing up for him during class when a notorious bully wouldn't let up on the professor. He couldn't stand seeing Crowler so hurt that he couldn't even speak, so he stood up and nearly ripped the bully's head off. No one had ever seen him get so angry before or since then, and that particular student never caused anymore problems. "You never forgot that either, eh?"

Bastion was startled out of his thoughts by the question. "Er, no. How could I?"

_You know I'll always be grateful to you for that. I don't think I'd still be here if you hadn't..._

_ Don't ever think about that again! I'm in your head, I share your memories, especially that one. It's horrid that one student was on the brink of making you take such drastic measures!_

_ I only thought about _that _for half a second. I would've quit teaching before I even got close to that point._

_ But you still thought about it, even if it wasn't for very long, and that scares the hell out of me._

_ Well, it's no picnic being in your head, either, Bastion! You've had your crazy moments, too!_

_ I know. Believe me, I scare myself, at times._

_ Yeah, don't do that. It gives me nightmares..._

_ Okay, that's just a bit weird, Doc._

_ I know. I don't like it, either!_

_ You do realize we don't have to stay in the Drift forever, right?_

_ We don't...? _Bastion facepalmed, which made Crowler wince.

_No, of course we don't! It's useful in combat situations, or when we don't want anyone to hear what we're saying, like right now, but we can't stay in the Drift all the time. Jeez, now I know why I can barely sleep at night..._

_ Wait, you see all of my dreams, too...?_

_ Yes, and they're very strange. Especially the one with the monkeys stealing the bowl of vanilla pudding._

_ I THOUGHT THAT WAS YOUR DREAM!_

_ GAH! You're in my head! There's no need to shout! That freaking hurt... _Bastion wasn't lying, of course. He now had a huge headache that forced him to break out of the Drift.

"Sorry, Bastion," Crowler apologized out loud, worried for his young co-pilot.

"Just...don't ever do that again."

"I won't, I promise. We should probably get everyone back to the academy, though."

"Alright, just give me a minute."

*****PAGE BREAK*****

Chuck looked up at the two pilots, as he had been for the past few minutes, watching both of their expressions change. He didn't have to read their minds to know that they were still in the Drift. Suddenly, the younger one's face contorted painfully, and he cried out, continuing their conversation out loud. Chuck knew exactly what happened. "Oi!" he called up to them. "Don't ever yell at each other while your in the Drift. My dad did that to me once, and it hurt like hell! Not to mention it breaks your concentration and the mental link between you two."

"One, Watch your mouth!" the very effeminate blonde growled back, which almost seemed comical. Almost. "Two, we've already figured that out on our own, thank you!"

"No kidding," the younger one said, rolling his eyes, then wincing again. "You two really aren't helping with my headache..."

"How about I take over for you, then?" Chuck asked. "I'm an experienced Jeager pilot, and I can pretty much Drift with anyone." They both declined at the same time.

"I'll be fine, honestly..!"

"I don't even know you, so I couldn't possibly Drift with you."

"Aw, come on, mate. Give the boy a break! Let someone else be your co-pilot while he recovers, or we'll be stuck here for hours. That headache will keep him from Drifting until it's completely gone, trust me!"

"Fine...but it has to be someone I know very well."

"I'm game!" Jaden volunteered enthusiastically. Without even waiting for Crowler's reply, the young brunette gave Chuck his earpiece, and clambered up to the Jeager's shoulder easily. Bastion looked up at him gratefully and gave him his helmet, while Crowler didn't seem too happy.

"Alright, we'll just do a small test, first, to make sure we can both safely enter the Drift." The professor stood up and led Jaden over to a hatch in the Jeager's neck, and they both disappeared into it.

"Good luck, kid," Chuck said. Jaden's voice crackled back into his ear.

"I'll be fine, Chuck!"

"Alright. Be prepared to see a lot of memories as soon as you initiate the neural handshake, and not just Crowler's. Bastion's will be mixed in there, as well, so don't get lost, and don't chase any rabbits!"

"Rabbits?"

"Specific thoughts or memories. Don't let yourself get distracted by them. It affects the Drift, and your control of the Jeager. Just concentrate on communicating with Crowler rather than watching the memories."

"Right, got it, bro."

"Yeah, right. The only thing I've seen Jaden concentrate on is a duel!"

"Yeesh, have a little faith, professor! I know I can do it."

"Guys! Less arguing, more Drifting!"

"Right. Sorry, Chuck."

"Initiating neural handshake." The com line was silent for a while as Jaden and Crowler tested their Drift-compatibility. Chuck waited, a bit impatient with the teen and his teacher.

"A Drift test shouldn't take this long..." he grumbled, forgetting that they could hear him, as well. Suddenly, Jeager's right arm reached up to allow Bastion to climb onto it.

"You were saying, Hansen?" Jaden said, sounding a bit cocky, and very proud of himself, making Chuck laugh.

"You had me worried for a second, there, kid!"

"Told you I wouldn't chase any rabbits!" A pause. "Oh, come on, Teach! You knew it would work! Let's get everyone back to the academy, now. We're all tired, and Chuck needs a place to stay while he waits for someone to find him. Plus, I wanna know if Gipsy Danger succeeded in closing the Breach."

"You really don't have to-"

"We're not just going to leave you on the beach," Crowler interrupted. "We'll carry everyone back to Slifer Red Dorm, including you, Hansen." With that statement, the hand that now held Bastion came away from Melee's shoulder, and the Jeager knelt down to let everyone else climb onto it. Once Chuck and the students were sitting safely in the robotic hand, Mechanized Melee straightened up, and began walking inland, toward Duel Academy. It was an easy ride, for the most part. Chuck talked to each of the students, and discovered what their version of dueling was. Jim and Jesse both wanted his autograph, and to know what it was like piloting Striker Eureka. Axel and Hasslebarry told him about how they were also raised in the military, though neither of them had signed up for academies, yet. Bastion was the real surprise; he didn't seem like the type to actually pilot a Jeager. He was more of a scientist than a fighter, and sort of shy. Even stranger was the fact that the boy could Drift with someone like Dr. Vellian Crowler. All Bastion would say on the subject was that the two were close friends and colleagues, even though Crowler was his teacher outside of KaibaCorp's Jeager program. They, along with a young man named Zane Truesdale, had actually started the program and designed Mechanized Melee before even telling Kaiba about it! They even built it themselves, using materials from KaibaCorp, and employing Zane's younger brother as an engineer.

"That's incredible, mate!"

"Really? Thank you."

"I've never heard of a group of youngsters and their teacher designing and building their own Jeager! I mean, he's just...brilliant! How many Kaijus has he killed?"

"Oh, at least twenty. I lost count..."

"You completely blasted my record!"

"Don't tell Jim that. He's a huge Striker fan. Same with Jesse! I'm sorry for your loss, though..."

"So am I, but the marshal did what he had to. I'll be alright, eventually, as long as his sacrifice wasn't for nothing. I wonder how hard my dad's taking it..."

"He was close to the marshal?"

"Sort of, but I'm not sure if he even knows I'm still alive."

"Oh...Do you have any way of contacting him?"

"Not at the moment, but I know where he is, and I can use the academy's phone to call him at the Shatterdome. That is, if it's okay with your chancellor."

"Oh, I'm sure he'd let you," Bastion said, obviously trying to reassure the Aussie pilot, but Chuck still couldn't stop worrying about his father. He honestly didn't know how Herc would react to his call.

*****AT THE SHATTERDOME*****

Hercules Hansen watched in horror as the blip that represented Striker Eureka disappeared off of Gottlieb's holographic map of the area around the Breach. He had heard Stacker and Chuck agree to detonate the payload moments before, but still couldn't believe that his boy was dead. He barely even heard the cheers go up around him when the news came that Raleigh and Mako had closed the Breach and escaped. When they finally got back to the Shatterdome, he congratulated them briefly, then went back to his room to grieve.

A couple of hours later, after Herc thought he had no more tears left to shed, his phone rang. He steeled himself, then answered it. "Hello?" he asked gruffly, not recognizing the number.

"Dad...?" The voice on the other end made Herc's eyes nearly pop out of his head.

"Oh, my God...You...You're alive?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'm fine. Stacker ejected me before he blew up Striker. Hey, you okay...?" Herc was almost too choked up to answer.

"My boy's alive...Charles, where are you? How did you contact me?"

"Some teenagers on an island hauled my escape pod out of the Pacific. They're students at a school called Duel Academy, and their chancellor said I could use the phone."

"What...?! Duel Academy...The school that teaches kids how to play a card game?"

"Yeah, but it's not quite as childish as you think. They used one of the cards in that game to help them to design their own Jeager. The thing is massive! It's even killed twice as many Kaijus as Striker!"

"That's impossible. We would have noticed!"

"But we didn't because KaibaCorp kept it hidden. They never reported the academy, or the surrounding islands, ever getting attacked!"

"We still would have seen the Kaijus coming out of the breach..."

"We did. We just had no idea where they were going, so we couldn't do anything about it." Herc was absolutely speechless. "Dad...You have **GOT** to come see this thing. It's brilliant!"

"Yeah...Alright, I'll be there, soon. Where exactly is this island?"

"Don't worry about it. The chancellor is already sending someone for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, just be ready and on the deck in about half an hour."

"You got it, son. I'll see you when I get there."

"Bye."

"Goodbye." There was a pause on the other end, but before Herc could hang up, Chuck spoke again.

"I love you, Dad." The phrase nearly brought tears to the elder Hansen's eyes again.

"I love you, too, son."

*****PAGE BREAK*****

Herc was on the deck of the Shatterdome a half-hour later, just as he'd promised, and waiting for his transportation to arrive. The helicopter came right on time, and when it landed, a strange man with long, silver hair and a red business suit stepped out to greet him. "Ah, you must be the famous Hercules Hansen," the man said flamboyantly. Herc just looked at him blankly, wondering if he could actually take the man seriously. "I've heard so much about you!"

"I'm afraid I have no idea who _you_ are, mate," Herc replied, not quite ready to trust him, yet.

"Oh! What an insult! I, of course, am Maximilian Pegasus, the very creator of Duel Monsters!"

"No offense, but unless it has to do with Jeagers, Kaijus, or my son, I generally don't pay attention to news or pop culture. I've only ever heard of Duel Monsters once or twice, and it honestly didn't peak my interest. I don't have time for games, so forgive me if I don't automatically bow at your feet, Pegasus. I'm a pilot, not a child." He scowled, disgusted with the man's arrogance. He could already tell that this wasn't going to be a fun ride. "The only reason I'm even willing to tolerate you is because you're the man that's going to reunite me with my son. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Pegasus gulped, feigning intimidation, but his smirk soon returned. "I certainly hope you aren't so cross with _him_ for no good reason! You know, you remind me so much of Kaiba-boy~" Herc rolled his eyes and got into the chopper, not even bothering to reply. "Oh, so now it's the silent treatment?"

"I've said all I needed to. Just take me back to my son."

"Fine, if you insist. You really can't expect to stay quiet for the entire ride, though. That would just be boring, and I sooooooo _hate_ being bored."

"Try being a Jeager pilot for a few years. Trust me, you'll learn to love boredom." Herc must've gotten trough to Pegasus, because the flamboyant game designer finally frowned for real.

"Oh. Sorry," he said quietly, and sat across from the Australian. They didn't talk for the rest of the flight. Well, Herc didn't. He couldn't really tell if Pegasus was talking to him because he was listening to classic rock the whole time, and couldn't hear anything over his headphones and the sound of the chopper's blades. The flight took another forty-five minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Forty-five minutes of anxious waiting. Forty-five minutes of not seeing his son alive. Forty-five minutes that couldn't possibly have gone any slower. Forty-five minutes of being clueless about his companion's loneliness.

Suddenly, said companion was shaking Herc's shoulder. "Huh...?" he asked, taking out his headphones. "What do you want?"

"We're about to land. Sheesh, no need to be rude! You already refused to even acknowledge my presence for the whole flight. You don't have to bite my head off at the end!"

"Sorry, mate. I just had other things on my mind."

"I understand that you're worried about your son, but you really need to not distance yourself like that, anymore. It will help you rebuild your relationship with him if you actually talk things out."

"When I want your advice, I'll ask for it," Herc grumbled, but he couldn't help wondering where it came from. "You...have kids?"

"No. Unfortunately, my wife was taken from me before we could have any."

"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss."

"You're lucky. Charles came back."

"That he did. Thank you...for bringing me back to him."

"Of course." After the helicopter landed, the two men got off and said their goodbyes. Herc used his left hand to offer a handshake, and Pegasus took it with a smile. "I certainly hope we meet again, Mr. Hansen."

"Same here, but just call me Herc," the Aussie replied with a grin.

"Well, in that case, you can call me Max!"

"Oh, I don't think you want him calling you that, mate. Max is my dog's name!" They both turned to see Chuck walking toward them, and all three shared a laugh. Then father and son hugged each other tightly, clapping each other's backs.

"I'm so glad you're alive!"

"Yeah, me, too!"

"You won't have to be inside my head to know that, anymore, I promise."

"Aw, Dad..."

"No, I've been shutting you out for too long, and it's caused a rift between us. That can't happen again."

"It wasn't just your fault, though. Stacker had me right when he pegged me as an egotistical jerk. Besides that, I always knew what you wanted to say, even when we weren't in the Drift. You're easier to read than you think. That's not what bothered me; it was just the fact that you couldn't find a way to tell me yourself."

"Right. No more silence?"

"No more silence."

"Good! I've always said that honesty is the best policy!" The two Aussies looked over at Pegasus, who was grinning gleefully at their reunion. "It's one of the main principles that my company is built on!"

"Yeah, right," came a gruff voice from inside the chopper, evidently belonging to the pilot. "Just get back in here, or we'll both be late for the meeting!"

"Coming, Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus called back airily.

"Call me that again, and I'm leaving without you!"

"Ugh, fine. You're so impatient! Oh well. Ta-ta, you two!" With that, the flamboyant businessman stepped back into the chopper, just before it left the ground. Herc and Chuck watched it go.

"You had to endure more than half an hour with that guy?"

"Yeah. He's not as bad as you might think," Herc replied knowingly. "The man's been through a lot."

"Oh. Well, you ready to see that Jeager I told you about?"

"Of course! What was the name...?"

"Mechanized Melee. Come on, he's back at the academy!" The look of glee on his son's face was more than Herc could have ever asked for after all he'd been through in the past few hours. Grinning back, he walked with Chuck all the way back to Duel Academy.

*****PAGE BREAK*****

Jesse looked up to see Chuck and an older man, presumably his father, walking into the Slifer Red Dorm, arm-in-arm. "Oh, you must be Mr. Hansen. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Please, just call me Herc. You're Jesse Anderson, right? My son speaks highly of you and your friends. Believe me, if you knew him as well as me, you'd know how rare that is!" Herc grinned, and Chuck elbowed him lightly.

"Dad...!"

"Don't worry. It seems like he's left his ego in that escape pod. Well, most of it, at least!" Jesse joked, and they all laughed. "Hey, I didn't get to tell you this before you left, Chuck, but I guess it's better that I waited. Alexis and I are working on our own Jeager, and it's almost finished!"

"That's great, but there's no need. The Kaijus won't be attacking anymore."

"What?!" Chuck exclaimed. "You mean Mako and Raleigh closed the Breach?"

"They sure did. Had to sacrifice Gipsy Danger, though. They overloaded her nuclear reactor and dropped her down through the Breach. Raleigh surfaced just after the blast, and he and Mako are back at the Shatterdome resting up."

"That's great!"

"I wouldn't count our chickens, yet, boys. Zane and Bastion have detected some strange signals coming from the volcano on the far side of the island; signals replicating the ones given off by the Breach," Jesse said solemnly, wishing his words weren't true. "Thankfully, no Kaijus have showed up, yet, but we still need to be prepared. Until we can find out what caused the new Breach, we have to do all we can to prevent the Kaijus from escaping to the rest of the world, which means keeping as many Jeagers online and on-guard as possible. Right now, Mechanized Melee is the only one that's fully operational, but we're developing more. The only problem is that none of us, besides Crowler and Bastion, have proper training."

"We'd be happy to help with that," Herc replied immediately.

"As long as we also get to help defend the island," Chuck added. "I know Dad's arm is messed up, but he's also a marshal."

"Chuck..."

"Thanks, y'all. We need all the help we can get, and it'd be an honor to serve under you, Marshal Hansen!" Chuck and Jesse both grinned, and Herc looked away to try and hide a smile.

"Alright. You have yourselves a brand new pilot and a marshal!"


End file.
